Full name Rebecca Katie Smith Name Rebecca Smith Playing position Role Soccer player | Height 1.75 m Position Defender Weight 64 kg | |
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Date of birth (1981-06-17) 17 June 1981 (age 34) Place of birth | ||
Rebecca Katie Smith (born 17 June 1981) is a former New Zealand international footballer who played as a defender. She was a member of the New Zealand women's national football team.
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Born in the United States, Smith qualified to represent New Zealand internationally through her parents.
Early life
Rebecca attended high school at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, California and played soccer there during her freshman year. She graduated in 1999.
Career
A natural leader, Rebecca captained Duke University side before landing a professional contract in Europe.
Smith played for the Newcastle Jets in the W-League and Sunnanå SK before being signed by VfL Wolfsburg. on 2 February 2009. Smith formerly trained with and had played friendlies for the club.
In 2013, she ended her career due to knee problems.
International
Smith made her Football Ferns debut in a 15-0 victory over Samoa on 7 April 2003, and captained New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in China, where they lost to Brazil 0-5, Denmark (0-2) and China (0-2).
Smith was also included in the New Zealand squad for the 2008 Summer Olympic games where they drew with Japan (2-2) before losing to Norway(0-1) and USA (0-4). Smith's solid performances in New Zealand's rearguard earned her a FIFA Women's World Player of the Year nomination in 2007 and New Zealand Player of the Year in 2007.
Smith played her 50th international in a friendly against Australia on 12 May 2011.
She was part of the New Zealand team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
On September 18, 2013, Smith announced her retirement from football.